Budget, Finance, & Accounting

Learn more about our career paths in budget, finance, and accounting.

What we do in Budget

At Social Security, our budget professionals ensure proper stewardship of Social Security’s programs and resources. Their responsibilities include:

  • Formulating, tracking, and analyzing Social Security’s administrative budget and performance.
  • Executing Social Security’s program and administrative budgets, including coordinating with the Office of Management and Budget on technical matters.
  • Preparing performance and strategic plans and reports.

We rely on professionals in budget to manage the financial resources for Social Security and its employees to deliver high-quality service.

Positions in Budget

Budget Analysts

Develop estimates for, secure, and manage the financial resources needed by Social Security and its employees in a cost-conscious manner to deliver citizen-centered service to our customers. Duties may include developing administrative cost estimates for enacted and proposed legislative, regulatory, and policy changes, analyzing and projecting the resources needed to process agency workloads, providing justifications, and supporting technical exhibits for budget requests, and managing the financial resources that Congress appropriates to the agency.

Performance Analysts

Develop strategic and tactical plans. Create, track, monitor, and analyze trends in agency performance to increase organizational effectiveness. Duties may include participating in the development of the Agency Strategic Plan, leading cross-agency efforts to develop performance metrics in support of agency strategic goals objectives and budget requests, and producing a variety of reports for internal and external use to regularly assess agency progress.

What we do in Finance & Accounting

At Social Security, our finance and accounting professionals manage the financial responsibilities for the agency. Their responsibilities include:

  • Estimating, securing, and managing the financial resources needed to deliver high-quality customer service to the public.
  • Preparing financial reports and participating in audits to provide the public with information about the agency’s financial position.
  • Providing financial oversight and effective policies for benefit and administrative payments.
  • Providing stewardship over Social Security’s Old-Age and Survivor’s Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASDI) trust funds.
  • Formulating, tracking, and analyzing Social Security’s administrative budget and performance.

We rely on professionals in finance and accounting to provide accuracy, reliability, and transparency for Social Security’s financial posture.

Positions in Finance & Accounting

Accountants

Manage Social Security’s central accounting and financial reporting activity to ensure the proper recording of financial transactions related to the agency’s assets, liabilities, and expenditures, including:

  • Prepare the agency’s audited financial statements and footnotes.
  • Compile and submit required budgetary/spending reports for internal and external stakeholders.
  • Oversee the agency’s cash management activity.
  • Analyze and report on agency workloads to drive business decisions.
  • Manage the agency’s administrative debt.
  • Provide oversight and control over financial agreements with other governmental entities.
  • Evaluate and provide financial advice about the implementation of legislation.
  • Take an active role in government-wide financial mandates.
  • Pursue and implement automation efforts to streamline work and improve performance.

Actuaries

Perform actuarial estimates and analyses related to the cost and financing of the Social Security and the Supplemental Security Income programs, including:

  • Evaluate the current and projected operations of the OASDI trust funds.
  • Evaluate the solvency effects of policy proposals that would change cost and income for the trust funds.
  • Evaluate policy proposals that would change cost for the Supplemental Security Income program.
  • Perform actuarial and demographic research on social insurance and related program issues.
  • Project future disability and retirement workloads.
  • Provide technical and consultative services to the Commissioner and the Board of Trustees of the Social Security Trust Funds.
  • Provide expert testimony on the actuarial aspects of Social Security issues.

Economists

Analyze economic data, phenomena, and policy related to the Social Security program. Responsibilities include:

  • Plan and conduct studies applying economic theory and econometric techniques to the analysis, interpretation, and presentation of Social Security projections and data.
  • Produce projections of labor force, productivity, and economic output to be used in projecting Social Security trust fund revenues and cost.
  • Develop and design economic models necessary to produce statistical data and research reports.
  • Analyze and respond to outside studies and inquiries relating to projections of Social Security revenues and cost.

Financial Management Analysts

Perform complex analysis of Social Security’s financial transactions, including:

  • Research, analyze, interpret, and apply fiscal policies, procedures, and guidelines to processes.
  • Reconcile financial transactions and solve complex problems.
  • Research and interpret financial directives, circulars, legislation, regulations, and policies to evaluate the impact on financial operations and any necessary reporting requirements.
  • Coordinate major financial projects and initiatives and analyze financial data for accuracy and identification of trends and variances.
  • Conduct highly complex special studies and analytical assignments to analyze, evaluate, monitor, and improve financial operations.